World No.33 Krejcikova Halts Sloane Stephens’ Resurgence, Reaches Maiden Slam QF’s at French Open 2021

Two days after ousting 18th seed Karolina Muchova, the former US Open champion, Sloane Stephens, crashed out of the 2021 French Open. Stephens suffered a humiliating straight-sets defeat at the hands of Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round of the clay-court Grand Slam.

The American started the first set on a disastrous note as she lost her opening service game and gave a commanding lead of 2-0 lead to her opponent.

Serving 3-1 in the first set, Stephens’ hopes of surviving got shattered by Krejcikova as she broke her service game to inch closer towards claiming the opening set.

The Czech tennis player continued dominating Stephens from the baseline, winning a whopping 93% 1st serve points during the opening set, to clinch the set 6-2.

Krejcikova bagels Sloane Stephens

The second set unravelled similarly, with Stephens losing the opening service game. The 28-year-old’s poor movement, a string of unforced errors and subpar returns exacerbated her problems as the set progressed.

While Krejcikova continued to hold her service games, on the other side, Stephens, lost her two successive service games to give her rival an assailable 5-0 lead in the second set.

Staring at a bagel, Stephens summoned up her leftover energy reserves to claw back into the match. Despite creating a breakpoint opportunity in the sixth game, Stephens failed to convert.

At her second match point, Krejcikova hit a forehand winner to claim victory and stormed into the career’s maiden Grand Slam singles quarterfinals. The final scoreline stood at 6-2, 6-0, as Krejcikova bageled Stephens in the process.

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